The Xbox 360 horror masterpiece Vampire Rain has been added to the GiN Prize Pool. As always, one lucky reader wins a prize from that pool each week. "We always pick games for the prize pool that we think our readers will like, and Vampire Rain looks to be one of those classic hits that you pick up to play for five minutes and end up still sitting there five hours later," said Nate Wooley, publisher of Gameindustry.com and Game Industry News. "I mean you have stealth and tactical shooter elements all wrapped up in everyone's favorite horror survival genre. … Continue reading Vampire Rain Added To Prize Pool →

Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) lights up the scoreboard and returns to the field with the launch of NCAA Football 08. Featuring all-new Skill Performance and a deeper Dynasty Mode, gamers can boost the motivation level of teammates by taking control and making big plays. With all-new My Shrine, the ability to experience real-time weather conditions and updates provided by The Weather Channel, and exciting plays like the Statue of Liberty, NCAA Football 08 recreates everything that's great about college football. Players can lead by example and control the action on the field! By improving their players' personal ratings on … Continue reading NCAA Football 08 Launches →

MTV Networks' Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group today announced its commitment to invest $100 million over the next two years in development, distribution and creation of casual gaming titles, sites and platforms. The announcement was made by Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group and was highlighted at the Casual Connect gaming conference in Seattle, WA, in a keynote address delivered by Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's Executive Vice President of Digital Media, Steve Youngwood. This announcement from the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group is part of MTV Networks' overall commitment to leading in the gaming space, including casual … Continue reading Nickelodeon Puts $100 Million Into Casual Games →

Funkitron, a widely respected publisher of casual games, today announced a partnership agreement with Sekkoia, the publisher of the popular board game Blokus, to develop an official version of the game for the PC platform. The strategy game has been a worldwide hit, winning almost all the existing awards in the industry since its debut in 2000, including the Mensa Select Award in 2003 and the 2004 Teacher's Choice Award. Blokus is currently scheduled for release in Q4 2007. As a turn-based strategy game, Blokus follows very simple rules. Each player starts with 21 polyominoes, shapes consisting of one to … Continue reading Blokus Coming To PC →

A new competition seeks novel ways that video and computer games can be used to help people manage their health and improve how their care is provided. The online competition, "Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care," is sponsored by the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and uses a unique, open source competition model developed by Changemakers, an initiative of Ashoka, that promotes enterprising solutions to social problems. The online application can be found at http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/competition/healthgames. Computer and video games are one of today's fastest growing media forms-their impact goes beyond entertainment … Continue reading Contest Looks At Games And Health →

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Don Mattrick, a former president at Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), will lead the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), which includes overseeing the Xbox and Games for Windows businesses. Peter Moore, who currently serves as corporate vice president of IEB, has decided to move his family back to the Bay Area for personal reasons and has secured another opportunity in the video games industry. Mattrick will take over as the senior vice president of IEB at Microsoft, effective July 30. Mattrick was the founder of Distinctive Software Inc., which operated as a private company from 1982 until … Continue reading Peter Moore Resigns From Microsoft →

Matrix Games and Advanced Gaming Systems are proud and positively elated to announce that Harpoon 3 – Advanced Naval Warfare has been awarded the coveted Origins Vanguard Award for innovative and unique gaming products! Apart from a shiny new trophy, the institution behind judging the Vanguard Awards, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design (www.originsgames.com/aagad/), had some fantastic things to say about the game. Their commentary accompanying the Vanguard Award stated that Harpoon 3 – Advanced Naval Warfare is "a superior product that is in a class by itself" which takes "versatility into an unparalleled new level." David Heath, … Continue reading Matrix Wins Vanguard Award →

PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced that it has acquired Retro64, Inc., a leading developer of retro-arcade style action and puzzle games (including Venice, which PopCap published last month). With the acquisition, PopCap has broadened its lineup of hit casual games to include more action-puzzle hybrid titles, and has expanded its internal development capacity in order to bring more games to market. The former Retro64 office, based in Chicago, has become a satellite PopCap development studio and is being managed by Retro64 founder and chief producer Mike Boeh. The studio will continue to create … Continue reading PopCap Buys Retro 64 →

Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, world renowned developer Epic Games Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the highly anticipated and award-winning Unreal Tournament 3 will be exclusive to the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and PC in 2007. Thanks to the open network of the PLAYSTATION 3 system, Unreal Tournament 3 will also be the first game to feature robust user generated content including multiplayer maps, custom game modes and much more. Developed by North Carolina-based, Epic Games Inc., Unreal Tournament 3 is scheduled to be available in November. … Continue reading Unreal Tournament Is Exclusive PS3, PC Title →

NCsoft Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online games today announced an exclusive game development deal with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) that provides for NCsoft to create several online games for SCEI's PlayStation platforms, including PLAYSTATION 3 and PSP, accessible through PLAYSTATION Network. The announcement was made at the E3 Media and Business Summit taking place in Santa Monica, California. Although company officials did not divulge any details regarding the names or types of games in development, NCsoft officials did say the games would be created from both existing intellectual properties (IP) owned by NCsoft, as well … Continue reading NCSoft, Sony Ink Development Deal →